"Not a beauty pageant" - HC Michael Malone trashes box score of 'ugly' Nuggets victory over LeBron James-less LA Lakers

The Denver Nuggets escaped with a narrow 131-126 victory against the Lakers on Friday night. Head coach Michael Malone made his feelings clear in the post-game press conference about the scheme's close shave.

In a mandated Q&A session with journalists, the Denver head coach quickly grabbed the box score in front of him and tossed it across the room into a trash can. On missing the shot, Malone let out a disguntled 'Damn it' before proceeding with the rest of the press conference.

Malone characterized his team's win over the Lakers as "ugly" and said it was "not a beauty pageant."

"This is not a beauty pageant," said Malone "we don't get rated on our wins, it's a win...obviously a lot of things we can be better at"

With the win, the Nuggets improved to 43-24, entering the second seed in the competitive Western Conference, aided by the Lakers' four-game losing skid in the absence of their talismanic forward LeBron James.

In a game that swung back-and-forth over the four quarters, it was Jamal Murray's mettle in the clutch that shone through, as the Canadian guard sunk his third game-winner against the purple and gold brigade to seal a tight win over their fellow contenders in the West.

Denver will face the Lakers again in five days time at the Crypto.com Arena but will likely face a stiffer challenge with Luka Doncic's return to the starting lineup, imminent.

Nuggets HC Michael Malone demands more from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray after close win

Even though Malone expressed his satisfaction at the Nuggets fortunate victory over the Lakers, he made sure to let his stars know his criticisms in the post game press conference.

Keen to avoid the same situation in the future, Malone demanded that his two stars shoot more carry the offensive load.

His comments belied a degree of responsibility at not getting Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray enough shots to shoulder the majority of the offensive burden.

"I gotta get (Jokic & Murray) 20 to 25 shots per game," said Malone "We need those guys to carry our offensive load."

Denver will look to address these concerns when they take on the Washington Wizards (14-51) in the last game of their home stand on Saturday night.